Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Memoir/Travel Narrative
Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store
Author:
“Jeff Bauer
is a community organizer, public policy advocate, and writer based in Saint
Paul, MN. His blog, onlybiggerthinking.com, has been read by nearly 10,000
people in over 50 countries. Folds in the Map is his first book. In addition to
his work as a writer, Jeff recently lead a successful advocacy effort, in his
role as Director of Public Policy at The Family Partnership, to pass a
nation-leading Safe Harbor law in Minnesota to protect children from sex
trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. He lives in a tiny house on St.
Paul's West Side with his wife, Diane.”
Description:
Jeff Bauer
“embarks on an earnest, touching
journey to discover the places where we feel most connected as human beings –
to each other, to nature, and to the world around us. From the bottom of a bomb
crater in Laos, to a refugee camp on the Sudanese border, to the side of a
Panamanian volcano, and back home again to the frozen January streets of
Minnesota.”
Appraisal:
Amazon
currently has this book categorized a couple different ways, as
“self-help/personal transformation” and in a category with
“spirituality/personal growth and inspiration” at the detail end of the
category string. I’ve chosen to call it a memoir or travel narrative. All of
these attempts to put a label on Folds in
the Map are accurate, yet misleading.
These are a
collection of essays that, while inspirational, don’t really fit what I picture
when I think of a book with the labels used on Amazon. And while most take
place in a specific place with the nature of the culture and events that happen
playing a large role, both of my picks are also misleading.
However,
many of the reasons you might read a book in any of the possible categories we
might try pigeon holing Folds in the Map
into, fit it well. For example, to gain a better understanding of the human
condition, both how we are different and how we are the same. Possibly
understanding the connectedness of the world and where we fit in it (or how the
author answers that for himself). I could pick a few very minor nits (for
example the use of the phrase “dear reader” in a few spots, which has been a cliché
forever), but on balance, I found this to be an enjoyable read for what it is,
even if that isn’t easy to categorize.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
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